5v 



■■•■•3" 



^ Ejjglish and French Timber Trade 



A bul' ' •■ ■ ...... . T>opttrUii<Mjt of Trailc 



aaJ Co' uD tlir tiinl>cr trade 



of ' . lH>Ui |a*l uiiJ i'rospoctivo, from wliirli 



Ui< .K<in: 



Compared «iU> Groat Britain, France clooi not import liirgo qunii. 

 titira of timber. The importation of Oroat Kritoiu for 1914 nmount«<l 

 to 93.60 per capita. Tho annual conmmption of timber in Great 

 Britain for the year amountoj to 14 cubic fiH't jK-r head, of whicli IC 

 per cent wb» grnnn nl tmnio and 84 per cent iniporttvl. For tlio Bumo 

 yeor Fr . . valued at $3T.:!80,000, nn nvcrngo of 9:t 



cents |H -ter tlio jkt i-npita importations of Great 



Britain. The reasons lor Franco's smnllcr importations of timber arc: 



Franco is a timberproducinp country. About 24,021,587 ncrcs are 

 under forest, all of which is carefully m.iim|;pd by tho government to 

 prevent ovcrcutting nnd secure tho miuitnuui pormnncnt timber pro- 

 duction. Tho quantity of timln'r cut each ycnr a|>proxinintC8 910,- 

 740,000 cubic feet, of which 22r..920,000 cubic feet nrc suitable for 

 saw timber; the remainder consi-its of rough wood. The timber produc- 

 tion of the country, added to tho imports, which in 1913 were 177,- 

 551,000 cubic feet, gives an annual per capita consumption of timber 

 for the country of about 27 cubic feet. 



France is not so great an industrial nation a.s Great Britain. Al- 

 though tlie per capita consumption of timber in France is twice that 

 of Great Britain, a largo proportion of the timber used is rough wood, 

 which under tho system of utilization of the forests .can be secured 

 in the country. Out of 27 cubic feet of timber used per head per year, 

 only 7 cubic feet is saw timber; tho remainder is fuel, poles, pickets, 

 used in rural operations. In Great Britain, of the 14 cubic feet per 

 head used annually, 12.2 cubic feet is saw timber and only 1.8 cubic 

 feet firewood and rough timber. 



An overwhelming proportion of the timber imports into France are 

 from European countries. Tho only products of importance purchased 

 by France outside Europe are southern yi'Uow pine and oak from the 

 United States, oak from Japan, and Douglas fir from Canada nnd the 

 United States. Match splints, chiefly of aspen, and white pine are 

 imported; 4 per cent comes from the I'nitod States and the remainder 

 from various European countries. 



Tho lumber imported into France is chiefly cut in inch sizes. Over 

 60 jM'r cent of tho softwooii lumber imported into France is between 

 1§ and 3i inches in thickness, being lA, 2 and 3 inch deals; 30 per cent 

 is lumber less than IJ inches in thickness, and the remainder is timbers 

 and logs. The average. price of tliis class of material imported was. 

 before the war: Less than Ig-inch, 34 cents per cubic foot; li to 3* 

 inch, 36 cents; over 3i-inch, 23 cents; rough logs, 25 cents. 



Oak is chiefly used in industries, furniture and house trim. The 

 important purchases are from the United States, Russia, Japan and 

 Austria-Hungary. Tho imports of oak have been on the increase 

 during the pa.st three years. Large quantities of oak clapboards are 

 imported to France. Oak is* a very popular wood in France and is 

 used in building and manufacturing and as finish where other woods 

 are now substituted in other countries. This may be due to the fact 

 that two-fifths of the forests of France are oak (10,000,000 acres 

 inaU). 



There are 2.'3,471 miles of railroad in France, in which are over 

 60,000,000 ties. Hardwood ties are preferrcl. Beech and oak are the most 

 commonly used. Cluster pine, Scotch pine and spruce are also used. No 

 ties are used without creosoting. The average life of creosoted beech 

 and oak is from twenty to twenty-five years. The pines gives a life 

 of from fifteen to eighteen years' and spruce eight years. Very rough 

 ties are accepted, particularly in oak, many being crooked, half round, 

 irregular in shape and size. 



The annual requirements of the French railways are 6,000,000 ties. 

 About 5,500,000 are produced, locally and 500,000 imported. 



Immediately after the war there may be a demand for imported ties. 

 Otherwise the market in France will remain limited to about one-tenth 

 of the annual requirements of the country. 



—18— 



It is a snfo cuncluHioM that largo quantities of timber from North 

 America will Ijo required in Fninrc anil Belgium nft4>r tho war. Tho 

 general requirement* will lt« for IumiImt iiuitablo for jwrtnlde build- 

 ingx, common lumb<>r fur Khenthing, studiling, joists, rafters, cheap 

 doors, sasli and tinibem fur fnloeuork and temporary reconstruction 

 of railroads, bridges and oUier large works. Koofing will bo in grout 

 demand. The competition will bo Itctween galvanised iron, prepared 

 roofings and possibly shingled. Tho prospects do not look good for 

 shingles, li<>cnuso tho galvanirx^d iron nnd felt roofings arc cheap, 

 quickly laid »n<l on the spot, and because tho European cannot think 

 in terms of a woo'len roof. 



Wood for Tobacco Pipes 



.approximately 500,000 feet of wood are consumed yearl.v in the 

 fnitcd States in tho manufacture of tobacco pipes, ('orncobs iiro 

 nut included in this figure. Neither are tho pipes included which 

 arc made in foreign countries and brought wholly manufactured 

 into the United States. 



The wood used in largest quantity is called French briar. It is 

 not a vine, but a small tree belonging to the heath family. It is 

 often spelled bruyere. It grows in tho south of E;urope and tho 

 largo roots are used by pipemakers. 



The next most important pipe wood of this country is mountain 

 laurel or ivy, and in this case also, it is the root that is used. 

 The principal supply is procured in North Carolina, but tho 

 laurel is abundant in many other regions. Osage orange or bois 

 d'arc from Oklahoma and Texas is in considerable demand; nnd 

 some wild black cherry and choke' cherry arc used, especially for 

 long stems. Many other stems are made of a cliinlting vine 

 known as sarsaparilla, common in the hardwood regions of this 

 country. This vino is naturally porous and it needs no boring to 

 complete the stem. In that respect it is like some species of 

 rattan. 



The pipe-maker is pretty choice in his selection of wood, par- 

 ticularly for high-grade pipes. Several qualities must be present. 

 Proper color is essential; but that may be secured by artificial 

 means if it does not belong to the wood naturally. The finished 

 pipe is of some dark shade, either black or dark reddish. French 

 briar and mountain laurel need little artificial coloring to make 

 them suitable. 



Wood for high-grade pipes must be brittle, with a tendency to 

 crumble under tho cutting impact of tools. Any disposition to 

 split is fatal. It must cut about the same in all directions in 

 order that a good surface may be secured. 



Porous wood with well-defined rings of growth is not wanted, 

 because the bands of pores ofl'cr less resistance to the cutting tools 

 than is offered b.v tho bamls of solid wood, and clean cuttings and 

 smooth surfaces are not secured. The almost total absence of 

 growth rings in laurel and French briar gives them their principal 

 value in the eyes of the pipe-maker. 



This holds true in particular for such pipes as are made all in 

 one piece, stem and bowl. Many high-class wooden pipes are so 

 made. The stem is bored with a fine drill, and it is a difficult 

 thing to do, unless the wood is all of one density. If there is a 

 soft porous band, the drill may follow it and spoil the stem. Stems 

 of small cherry twigs are easy to bore, because the drill follows 

 the pith down the center. 



Various hard, dark woods from different parts of the world are 

 used to some extent by pipe-makers; but at this time a persistent 

 search for suitable material is being made among American woods. 



The average factory owner will make fun of his wife's disposi- 

 tion to go bargain hunting for things at the stores, but when it comes 

 time to buy a new machine, he will shop around with the same bar- 

 gaining in!>tinct; and he will get stung just about as often as his 

 better half does. 



